Flyers Gameday: What's plural for "Avalanche"?

"Payback is a bitch." A quip that everyone likes to say in many of life's situations. Maybe it's when you're on the New Jersey Turnpike going back to Philly from Ocean City, stuck in traffic, and some D-bag with NY plates speeds past you while riding the curb, and then 20 minutes later, you pass the guy as a NJ state trooper has pulled him over. You pass the car, sneaking a glance at the driver while saying "Ha, paybacks a bitch!" Payback can be good and bad, but mostly negative. Karma is associated with payback. You steal the last doughnut in the weekly Monday morning meeting, you'll be getting some payback for that from Carl in accounting. Carl might kill you, but probably will just not share his birthday cake with you in March. Carl gets his payback, and in Carl's world, the universe is balanced. Point is, payback is as American as apple pie.

The very notion of "payback" is a great tradition. Everything revolves around getting payback. You get "paid back" for working at your job. You get payback from the nerd in high school you used to beat up when he bangs your sister. You even get a sense of payback when you watch the 1999 thriller Payback starring Mel Gibson and the always hot Maria Bello. One common area that people notice "payback" the most in is sports. And hockey is a sport rich in payback. Tonight, the Flyers get to hand out a little payback of their own to the Colorado Avalanche.

Way back in October, the Flyers were lost. The went to Colorado looking for their first win of the season. We were 0-3. It wasn't looking good as the Flyers were on their first road trip of the season. We came into Colorado and got blown out. Colorado destroyed us in every aspect of the game. Andrew Raycroft's first start for the Avs was an easy win, only needing to stop 18 shots. Gagne did have a sexy penalty shot score in the game to make it 2-1, but the Flyers were never in the game. Tonight, Papa Stevens should be sending a message to his team, that the Avs deserve to get the yams beat out of them.

They're in our barn, and the Flyers should go out and bury them early. Get the Philly PP working, get Cote to show anyone wearing magenta the door, and get Carter on the board. Randy Jones might play, and we're hoping he does. The Flyers can win this game, and should. I'd love a 4-3 victory, and I wish Sakic could lace 'em up in Philly once last time, but he's too busy fingering snow blowers. Look for all 4 lines to keep rollin' and I'd look for Lupul to get a greasy one tonight. If Scott Hartnell fights again, he might move up my "whose-jersey-would-I-buy" ranking to #2.

Payback's a bitch Colorado, and you're going to find that out tonight.